March 3, 2006

Oscars.

I'm so not interested in the Oscars this year, but I guess I'll watch -- with TiVo to speed things up -- to see what Jon Stewart has to say.
"He's an outsider looking in at the system, which is always problematic with a show like that because it's the ultimate insiders show," Oscar show writer Bruce Vilanch told CNN....

"You never want to do badly, but you also don't want to paralyze yourself thinking about doing badly," Stewart told CNN. "Show business, you don't get into for the health plan. You get into it for the opportunities and the fun to try different stuff."
Are you going to watch out of excitement over who will win? Check out the predictions. It seems awfully predictable. Frankly, I don't even care who wins. I'm going to watch as a very distanced observer, and I'm going to blog.

15 comments:

chuck b. said...

I'm not even remotely interested. I'm not even in the next galaxy of interest over.

Ruth Anne Adams said...

Will you consider blogging the pre-game fashion show?

Ann Althouse said...

Ruth Anne: Most definitely!

vbspurs said...

I'm so not interested in the Oscars this year, but I guess I'll watch

This is probably what 90% of Americans are feeling, this year especially.

My mother is just going to watch the red carpet show with Face Lift Horror Duo, Melissa and Joan Rivers.

Neither parent has seen one of the films nominated in any of the major categories, and my father is a cinephile like me.

Shame really.

Did anyone catch the segment CNN did on the exact geographical centre of the US -- known as Lebanon, Kansas?

They have one theatre (which charges $4 per flick), but it's only one film per week.

And none of the people interviewed in all of the town, had watched, or had any interest in watching, say, Brokeback Mountain.

Says it all.

Last year I live-blogged the Oscars, but pretty sure I won't do it this year.

It's very fatiguing, even though it can be fun, since I'm just missing Mrs. Henderson Presents of all the films nominated in the major categories (I'm watching it tomorrow night, hopefully).

For those interested, here are my latest pics (c/p from my earlier post in Brazil's O Globo site):

FILM: Capote

(Everyone is saying Crash is going to crash Brokeback Mountain's party. We'll see)

DIRECTOR: Ang Lee

ACTOR: Philip Seymour Hoffman

ACTRESS: Reese Witherspoon

SUPP. ACTOR: Paul Giamatti

(Tongues wagging that it'll be Dillon over Clooney. We'll see)

SUPP ACTRESS: Rachel Weisz

(Same tongues now favourite Michelle Williams, but I don't think so)

AD. SCREENPLAY: Brokeback

OR. SCREENPLAY: Paul Haggis/Crash

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Lubezki/New World

FILM EDITING: Winborne/Crash

ART DIRECTION: King Kong

COSTUMES: Atwood/Geisha

SOUNDTRACK: Williams/Munich

SONG: Hard Out There For a Pimp/Hustle & Flow

VISUAL EFFECTS: King Kong

MAKEUP: Narnia

SOUND EDITTING: King Kong

SOUND MIXING: War of the Worlds

FOREIGN FILM: Sophie Scholl

(Though most people think it'll be Tsotsi)

DOC: Penguins

ANIMATION: Wallace & Gromit

At the least sign of a very shrill acceptance speech of a political nature, I'm turning it off.

Cheers,
Victoria

sonia said...

My Oscar predictions are here. I will watch it. There is an exceptionally good selection of films this year. It tells you what an exciting crop of movies we've got when the film about Truman Capote is actually the least controversial and the most respectable of the whole lot...

Anonymous said...

I'm so not interested in the Oscars this year, ... Frankly, I don't even care who wins. I'm going to watch as a very distanced observer, and I'm going to blog.

Okay, let me see if I have this straight. You're not interested, you don't care, you're going to be very distanced, and you're going to blog.

Ooh! Can't wait!

Palladian said...

quxxo, that's a great description of how you operate around here! We're not interested, we don't care, we're going to be very distanced, and you're going to comment anyway.

vbspurs: "And none of the people interviewed in all of the town, had watched, or had any interest in watching, say, Brokeback Mountain.

Says it all."

Says all of what, exactly? It's amusing to me that people are still twisting themselves into pretzels trying to deny that "Brokeback Mountain" has any appeal to "normal" Americans. I mean, the good people of Lebanon, Kansas aren't interested in that cowboy drag sex musical! Says it all!

I hardly think "Brokeback Mountain" was quite the important event some have made it out to be, but it's actually pretty good and certainly a bit more impressive than most of the fare in its category.

And you just know that someone is going to make a freshman-level BravePoliticalStatement™.

vbspurs said...

Says all of what, exactly?

That the very middle of America (to emphasise the point CNN were tryin to make with their Lebanon, Kansas spot), didn't watch what many of us are touting as the Best Picture of the Year.

Hang on, not finished tying up the loose ends, since you seem confused by my statement.

And that if Brokeback Mountain gets the Oscar for the Best Picture, it will be one Middle America has not really watched at all this year.

It's amusing to me that people are still twisting themselves into pretzels trying to deny that "Brokeback Mountain" has any appeal to "normal" Americans.

Having clarified above, I will state this categorically:

A love story about married gay/ bisexual sheep herders has very little appeal to "normal" Americans.

Full stop.

I mean, the good people of Lebanon, Kansas aren't interested in that cowboy drag sex musical! Says it all!

I know people who haven't seen Dances with Wolves yet, either.

Me, for example.

Says it all about me.

Like I'm not very engaged by a non-sporting film starring Kevin Costner.

Cheers,
Victoria

Anonymous said...

Hey Immodium, check out what VD says:

A love story about married gay/ bisexual sheep herders has very little appeal to "normal" Americans.

Normal?

Anonymous said...

Here's a link to the CNN piece that our pet bigot liked so much.

Funnay, I thought teh point of the CNN piece was how out of touch and small minded a town of 250 rural americans were when compared to us city folk. But then vdspuds proved to be the more bigoted.

vd, we love ya, but we don't play that bigoted game here baby!

Pete said...

quxxo,

At least try not let your knee-jerk reactions get the better of you. You mis-read Victoria (vbspurs). She's not a bigot and, unlike yours, her postings are quite insightful.

Ann Althouse said...

Quxxo: "Okay, let me see if I have this straight. You're not interested, you don't care, you're going to be very distanced, and you're going to blog. Ooh! Can't wait!"

Well, you seem to hang on every damn post that ever goes up around here, so you're sarcasm doesn't quite work.

In any event, you're missing the fact that a neutral observer is in a good position to see things, so you should be interested in what I'll come up with. For example, I'm not hoping for Stewart to do well and I'm not eager to see him fall on his face.

vbspurs said...

At least try not let your knee-jerk reactions get the better of you. You mis-read Victoria (vbspurs). She's not a bigot and, unlike yours, her postings are quite insightful.

Thanks, Pete. Don't trouble yourself about this troll on my behalf.

I'm a nice person, but my niceness stops at libel.

We'll see, what we'll see.

Cheers,
Victoria

vbspurs said...

Best picture
Capote


Oh dear. This makes me nervous.

Why? Because it seems you are deliberately targetting the long-shots, or the films which are not the favourites, perhaps to strike out on your to be seen as an "independent" voice.

Mind you, there's nothing wrong with that, Craig!

It's just that these types of people are usually wrong about the Oscars.

My picks were not about who I want to win, but who I think will win.

Best director
No award. (OK, Ang Lee's probably going to go home with the Oscar he should have won five years back for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.)


Does that mean you have no opinion, or that you feel no one should win the award this year? :)

Cheers,
Victoria

sonia said...

Christy,

you equate exciting to controversial

And what do you equate it with ? Mundane?

Hollywood seems to care about - being controversial

Not enough, in my opinion...

for those of us who love drama, but who are indifferent to sexual orientation, agree McCarthy was a nasty man, and could care less about giving the finger to Middle America, what does Hollywood have to offer this year?

If Capote isn't dramatic enough for you, nothing will, if you think McCarthy was a nasty man, I suggest you read about Stalin and his gulags, and I don't think either Bareback Mountain or Crash could be described as "giving a finger to Middle America". Quite the opposite. Crash is a rare film that dares to say that non-Whites can be just as racist (if not more) than Whites, and if Bareback is anti-Middle America then Schindler's List is anti-Jewish...